It is absolutely necessary for me to raise this issue that has consistently plagued our society and robbed our youths of all sense of moral decorum. This upheaval in character portrayed in our younger generation has swept the very crust of decency from their minds and has left the older ones and people who still have the passion to inculcate the morally accepted norm in our youths wondering what decent hope we still have in our future leaders. I have been compelled to write this article, not by the opinion of other people but a deep conviction that if a proper awareness is raised, we can curb this infectious peril ravaging through our society and eating up the minds of the young ones. Just as His Royal Majesty Haile Selassie 1, Emperor of Ethiopia puts it “Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph”.

A careful observation evidently points out that moral values are embedded in our religion, culture and traditions. So why is there an augment in the menace in our society? Should we blame the parents for not properly discharging their duties in nurturing their children and acquainting them with societal values? Probably we should blame the schools, churches and mosques for not holding their fort and impacting civilization and godliness in the minds of the youth. Maybe it is the media! They are the ones displaying the illicit contents teaching the young ones all manner of indecency and vices in the music videos and the films with some outrageous justification. Another bright idea is to blame the youths; they do the stupid, dumb and the most condescending things. They are the ones perpetrating these evil acts – they swear, curse, dress indecently, do the drugs and engage in all known vices. Bite me; nobody coerced them into these things (so we would like to think).

It is past time we deviate from the blame game and face the facts and it happens to be just two of them. The first being that we are losing our youths to utter and imminent destruction heralded by moral depravity whose exponential increase is more than we can imagine and the second is that it is left for us to annihilate this mundane aberration once and for all.

The younger generation intuitively loves to explore their environment. They give little concern to the obvious things and are readily susceptible to change thus their disposition most times can be described as a deviation from the norm. Unfortunately, all that energy and need to know more, the inkling to think differently, the urge to act unconventionally has been channelled to unconstructive conducts. On a brighter note, a deviation from the norm that has been carefully brewed and nurtured to do positive and constructive endeavours can be enhanced to make global impacts and institute a global difference.

The deviation of the younger generation from the norm should not be entirely frowned at but should be harnessed. This is excellence that can only be brought to light by a person’s uniqueness and ability to have a distinct disposition. New growth comes from new thinking and disposition just as Richard Horwath CEO of the Strategic Thinking puts it “Excellence is defined as a deviation from the norm“. For a person to actively embrace change, the person must be geared up to think and act out of the box. The younger generation has been blessed with a hunch to try new ways and clinch new concepts and ideas so a shot at responsibility is not a bad idea at all. They have the energy and the active disposition that can be fed with sound acumen to yield buoyant results.

The youths are our future leaders and our hope for a much better future. But how can they learn if they are not properly engaged? How can they gain the experience of leadership and sound judgement if they are relegated to the background? Responsibility brings one back home and gives a sense of belonging and this is a far-cry from what we are experiencing today. The youths should be made to clearly understand that they can do more, achieve more and be relevant in their society today. It should be evidently lucid to them that they are meant for more.

There is no hand-writing on the wall that says that youthful age is explicitly meant for clubbing, getting involved with drugs, alcohol and other nefarious vices. We can make a thrust back to sanity but still embracing a 180 degree deviation from the norm. Let us keep talking about it in our families, let us raise our voices in our churches, mosques, social gatherings, seminars and schools. We can effect a lasting change that is firmly rooted on a break from the norm.